The Untold Story of Ella Nox
by Katie Partisha
Summary: Ella Nox is an ordinary human with cybornetic smarts. She herself developed "Demon" and her own right eye. Her dream was to help the Separatists fight against the tyrannical senate all her life. I do not own Star Wars. But I do own Ella, Demon and Katsuo.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The sun cast a beautiful red hue upon the huge skyscrapers and the fast moving hover vehicles of the Planet Otto as it set on the eastern horizon.

Otto is much like Earth (or, rather, what we would probably be in a millenia or so) in our own galaxy, Orion. It developed much the same way as well. With the exception, of course, that we long already let industry take over the wild and cause the extinction of most plants and nonsentient creatures. Sure the domesticated plants and animals survived, and the animals that developed complex thinking. For an example, what had been the chimpanze now very closely compares to today's humans on Earth.

What about the humans on Otto? How have they evolved?

The planet used to be (again like Earth) a planet that had been corrupted by war amoungst its own. Wars fought over race, religion, and power. It ended with a man much like Napoleon, although he was born in a city that resembles London in almost every way. HIs name was Nathaniel Bane. His reach extended to the new continent that had been recently discovered. He developed the entire of Otto into a worldwide communistic dictatiorship. And it has been ever since. There has been no wars, no depressions or recessions. Everyone works. Everyone helps one another. Everyone is equal. And since space exploration started, there has been a steady supply of wealth and growth of the planet.

The humans of Otto have evolved less than one would expect. But if you think about it, they developed technology to replace what they couldn't wait to develop in evolution. Their eyes are more sensitive to light, and they are able to withstand a very slightly larger amount of radiation. But other than that, they have not developed anymore than what they had been. Most humans on Otto rely on robots to do things for them. In fact, scientists almost seem to be working on a way of developing these AIs to replace humans completely. This isn't true, exactly, but they have gone a little overboard.

Otto joined the resistance army, more commonly know as the Separatists, against the Senate and have helped develope better and more intelligent battle droids.

One member of the planet Otto was even sent to help on a huge project of Count Dooku's.

Ella Nox passed the final exam of M. E. Tal Private School with a more than perfect score. She was the top of her class, so everyone knew she would pass with a perfect score.

The final exam of Otto's schools requires the student to build and fully develope one or more robots that are useful in more than one way. It is not easy at all, and requires the students to pay a lot of attention during the 20 years of school they go through, starting at age 5.

Ella went above and beyond that.

She not only developed an AI robot built for speed, stealth, and power, she also created a working replacement for her right eye (she was born with a blind eye).

The AI, nicknamed "Demon," was based off of the presently extinct wolf. At what looks like the head are it's visual, heat, and sound sensors. It's visual sensors could see in night vision and infared as well as regular light. On it's back is a high volt long gun designed for long distance shooting. In order to hold so much weight and still be speedy, it had to be big. It was as big as a small elephant and so Ella went on to develop a compartment for herself to lay in. It had claws, a long whip like tail tipped with a double edged blade for close quarter's combat. The Crucial parts were made out of a metal with a very high melting point, so it was resistant to even the popular jedi weapon, the lightsaber. Deamon did have a weak point. It's legs. Using the "fake muscle leg" technology, she created them. This way it was able to be even quieter when it landed (it absorbed the shock a lot) from reasonable distances. The main metal was not made for combat, but for lightness and stealth.

Her cybornetic eye had a few different modes. Regular light, scope, night vision, and infared,

Needless to say, she deffinately got more than perfect on her exam. "Perfect" was Timothy Gardner's project. The fork that fed you and cleaned itself was his project. "Perfect" was Lee Ferden's project. The toilet that was also a shower and did everything for you. They got to become scientists.

Ella Nox got to help design and build General Grievous.


	2. Chapter One

Ok so here is chapter one. Hope it suitable. No, the opening planet is not Tatooine. Ella really is not good with names. The only reason she knows Grievous's so well is because he kept shouting it over the top of his lungs before he killed someone. Revised and edited chapters cuz the site removed the line breaks .

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Chapter One

It was some far off planet in the outer rim they were conquering. Ella never kept track because she wasn't very good with names. All she knew was that it was a desert like planet with one very large, very red sun, which was currently set, leaving the one, small moon to brighten the night. There wasn't any life she could see.

She was 5'6", blonde, blue eyed, and thin. Pretty average for a human. Nothing about her really stands out aside from her obvious cybornetic eye, and the huge robotic wolf that was always by her didn't have armor on, as she was sitting inside the compartment of Demon. All she had to do was lay down and she would be completely protected.

Demon had gone through some modifications since she built grievous. His origional body had gotten destroyed at the battle of Genosis against the jedi. It's design for maximum stealth largely decreased it's defensive capabilities in close quarter's combat. Now Demon was heavier, a little slower, and definately not very stealthy, but had a high defense capability, as well as attack for both long and close distance combat. Ella had over compinsated and she knew it.

She was still trying to find the perfect balance. If she put too much armor on him, it increased defense, but it also increased weight and decreased movement and speed. If she decreased the weight by removing armor, it decreased defense as well, and so on. For now his current body would have to do.

Beside her was the infamous supreme comander of the droid armies; General Grievous. Much earlier, when the cyborg first opened his eyes, he had tried to kill the girl, along with everyone in the room. Fortunately, only a few of the bug aliens got hurt. Genosians? Was that what they were called?

She winced. She never was good with names...

Well, anyway, she lived of course but she had to jump behind Demon to avoid his attacks.

Demon looked around a little, and Ella could hear his eye zooming in and out, trying to find something.

"Uh, what are we looking for, again?" Ella asked.

"Are you stupid?" Grievous growled. "Jedi scum, you complete idiot!"

Ella stared off into the distance using the scope mode of her cybornetic eye, the blue circle over where her iris was getting slightly brighter. Nothing. She turned the dial on the side to nightvision, also turning the blue dot to a dull green. Finally she tried infared, her eye turning red.

"Well?" demanded the cyborg General.

"There is no sign of life anywhere," said Demon. Ella had programed it with a male voice. Demon rarely spoke, and certaintly not on the battlefeild. "If there is any of these Jedi, they would probably be indoors sleeping, as would most sensable life-forms."

Grievous growled at Demon and pulled out a lightsaber.

"I wasn't speaking to you, droid!" he shouted, waving his lightsaber in a few circles.

Demon just looked at the cyborg for a long moment. "I'm a highly advanced AI. My internal sensors can process faster than your organic brain, even if it has a few modifications."

"Um, Demon look 400 meters east in infared and tell me what you see," Ella interuppted them. He turned his head around to stare out, his visual sensors turning red. Grievous attempted to look out that far as well, but even his keen reptillian eyes couldn't see what she was pointing out. There was a very small blip of green and blue far out. The intervals seemed to be like breathing. She heard Demon zoom in on it and switch backand forth between modes.

"Switch to night vision," Grievous said very quietly. "I believe we are being watched."

And when Ella switched, she saw what looked like a glare off a pair of binoculars. A few clicks came from Demon. Possible target, he meant.

Her scope only went so far, so she leaned down. As she did so the straps around her shoulders tightened, pulling down the hatch.

Inside Demon, it was a perfect but tight fit for her, and a slight slope downward. But all the controls and switches were inside. She could even see what Demon was seeing thanks to the monitor. Once she put the headphones in, she could hear what he was experiancing as well. There were meters as well, measuring the light heat and sound levels all around. The only problem was that in order to use the outside long gun, she would have to sit up.

Ella made a mental note to improve the internal configuration. That could decrease weight by a lot if she did it correctly.

"Demon, how useful is your voice unit?" Ella asked.

"Depends on how much communication I need to do."

"Would it be better, you think, if I removed it?"

"Insufficient data," Demon replied. "Conduct experiments."

"What is that thing?" She was watching the monitor. There was a long thin looking bright light. It almost looked like...

"From what I've gathered from observations and from my memory data, I am 89% sure it's a lightsaber. I am 65% sure that the life-form holding it is a padawan in training. I'm 100% possitive his master is near by and have drawn the conlusion this is a trap."

"Scan for other life-forms."

Grievous could not hear their conversation and he was well aware of the lightsaber. A blue one. He narrowed his eyes. "So," he thought, "I suppose this Jedi doesn't fall under 'sensible life-forms.'" He chuckled darkly at his own joke, then darted off towards the single blue lightsaber. The sand slowed him down quite a bit, and embarrassingly he rememered he was heavier than what he used to be. The weilder of the lightsaber, he could see, was a young padawan. A teenage human. He was artfully practicing blocking movements. Grievous slowed down, approaching soundlessly like a cat, a hand on the lightsaber he was going to slice up this Jedi wanna-be. A slight hill in the sandblocked him from seeing the bodies of the droid scouts he sent out earlier, and he very noisily tripped over the long dead shell.

"Dooku instructed us to watch over Grievous," Demon reminded Ella.

"I'm not a fricken baby sitter!"

"It has only been a couple months since he got transfered into his new body. He isn't used to his own body yet."

Ella grumbled a bit under her breath. Then, "Just wait until the other Jedi reveals itself."

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"Your failure very nearly led to your demise," Dooku reprimanded Grievous very harshly. "It was only thanks to Ella that you survive."

Grievous said nothing, just looked away from the count. He was standing slouched and with his arms behind his back. His antenna on both sides of his head were back, giving him a look like a kicked puppy.

Ella put a hand over her mouth, silencing the giggle threatening to escape her lips. The thought of such a tempermental and dangerous cyborg seeming like a puppy just struck her funny bone.

Dooku turned away from the general and, in a similar but straighter postion, looked out the view ports. After a while he sighed and shook his head.

"You need work on your lightsaber skills," he said with a glare at the view ports. He turned around, lifting his chin up so it was level with the floor. "Follow me, I have something to show you that should help you train."

Ella went off to her room near the flight deck where she had a sort of work room, and so Demon didn't have to navigate the hallway doors not built for something as big as him. He could, but the Nemoidians and the Banking Clan put too much investment in this flag ship for anything too out of the ordinary.

She walked into her work room and the first thing she saw was it was completely trashed.

The next thing made her blood boil.

Demon was cut apart while charging. There was plenty of signs of lightsaber burns and cuts, as well as just plain smashed to bit peices as well. Her fists clenched angrily and she made a straight bee-line for the training room. And Grievous.


	3. Chapter Two

Demon's new design is based heavily off of the Crying Wolf in Metal Gear Solid 4. Now I only own the AI part of Demon, and it's body and basic design belong to Hideo. By the way, MGS4 is AWESOME!

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Chapter Two

Droids scattered out of the way of Ella Nox as she stormed to the door. Too enraged to say anything, she pointed at a droid and jabbed it towards the door number lock.

"Do you want me to open it?" it asked quizically.

Ella nodded, tightening her fists tighter. The adrenaline was pumping into her bloodstream faster and faster. All she could think about was ripping that damned cyborg apart just like how he did with Demon.

After the door finally opened (which, to Ella, seemed like forever) and after she watched Grievous training a bit with these new droids, she felt the rage and the need for revenge increase even more. She walked up to one of the new models and took its staff and hurled it at Grievous.

The cyborg reacted in enough time to both dodge the two he was training with and block the staff that had hurtled towards him. Both droids imediantly stopped and turned towards Ella. The cyborg general just lowered his lighsaber and... Wait was he grinning?

Ella looked closely at his eyes. The part of the cheeks still visable under his skull like helmet where pulled up in an obvious smile, his yellow reptillian eyes full of malice and satisfied revenge.

"Did you see your present?" he asked evilly. "I spent a lot of time working on it just for you."

Dooku felt the rage eminating off her in the force, but disappointedly noticed she was not gifted with force powers. "Too bad," he thought. "Her anger could even rival Ventress's."

She was quiet for a few moments, the power of her anger shaking her body, as if desprite to be released. Then she walked very slowly towards the cyborg. Visions of her ripping him to shreds passed her mind, as well as many other more malicious things.

"No," she thought. "I will not give in to him. Throw it back at him, Ella! Come on! Think!"

When she was only a few feet away from him she stopped. Then she took a deep breath and unclenched her fists.

"Thank you," she said levelly. "It's exactly what I wanted."

Grievous looked absolutely shocked for a moment, but then reverted to watching her suspiciously.

"No, I mean it. I've been wanting to redesign him anyway."

Then she left the dumbfounded general behind.

Back in her work room, she took out a fresh sheet to create some blue prints. Those staffs that those new droids had. It's alloy was light AND it even deflected the lightsaber. What about it's internal design.

By the time she liked the design, there was a pile of balled up paper littered all over the floor.

She would talk to Dooku on supplies and stuff after a nap...

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_"And now for a special announcement," the dean said, avery proud expression on his face. "For the first time in over 20 years of M.E. Tal's history..." he paused for effect. "One of our students not only passed her final exam..." again another pause. "She also went above and beyond expectations! She built not just a robot, but AN AI, no less. She even self programmed it..." Another dramatic pause. "ELLA NOX!"_

_The crowd went wild with screams of excitement. Loudest of all came from Ella's best friend, Virginia. Ella walked up to the stage and proudly accepted the medal. She looked foundly at it. But suddenly the crowd went silent. Ella, smiling, looked up. But the smile was wiped off her face as she saw the strange starfighter of Count Dooku. A strange old man who was looking to recruit someone for this project. Dooku apparently had seen Ella's potential when he had seen her working on her cybornetic eye._

_"We are also proud to send little Ella, not to a scientific labratory, no.." again yet another pause. What a drama king, huh? "But to help serve the Separatists!"_

_The screams blasted the stadium. Ella swore she saw all her teacher's in tears._

_Ella smiled to herself, pride and happiness swelling in her heart. This was going to be great!_

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Ella woke up to a headache. She always got those after a lot of adrenaline.

She sat up and leaned her head on her hand, resting her elbow on her knee. Looking down she saw, in surprise, she had sat on a holo device.

After activating it, a blue holo image of General Grievous appeared.

"You sleep like a Karlis during the winter!" the General snarled. "Hopefully you'll wake up soon because if you are not in the training room in TEN MINUTES I'll destroy this." He held up a peice of paper. Not just any peice of paper, but her blueprints to Demon!

She was there in less than five.

"Where is my blueprints!" she demanded, storming up to Grievous.

"I destroyed them an hour or two ago," he replied slowly, as if speaking to a child. Then he just glared at her. "You embarrased me in front of Count Dooku! That calls for some form of punishment!"

She just glared at him, not knowing what to say.

"So you will leave me unprotected?" she demanded after a minute or so. By that time he was back to sparring with one of his new droids. MagnaGuards they were called.

"No," he said as he dodged and attacked. "You have three different MagnaGuards who will protect you. Dismissed."

With a huff, Ella left to go to her room. And there were all three waiting for her. Smirking at them, she thought, "I got to give Grievous some credit. He is the dumbest thing on two legs."

Not only did he forget her photograghic memory...

But he also just handed her most of the materials she needed.


	4. Chapter Three

Sorry guys. It's been a while. But I got inspired :). Zu Katsuo (Zoo Kat-soo-oh) is copyrighted to me by the way.

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Chapter 3

On the southeastern tower of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant was a meeting of the jedi high council. Mace Windu looked over to the newly appointed Grand Master, the small, old, green terror Master Yoda. A small smile touched the corners of his mouth as he looked down at his brown hands. After the battle of Geonosis, he had stepped down from the position so he could be more involved with the war. The Clone Wars. Some of the council members, one's on other worlds, where here holograghically. Kit Fisto, for instance was in the middle of battle as he was in meeting.

Obi-Wan Kenobi stroked his beard lightly, watching the hovercars outside the windows across from him.

Plo Koon also seemed lost in thought as he gazed in a direction Windu couldn't tell. It was possible he was asleep.

Shaak Ti was meditating it seemed, much like Yoda was. And Zu Katsuo was as well.

Zu Katsuo was a curious jedi master. His right eyebrow was split with a scar from a vibrablade which sliced down to his jaw. Wether of the same injury, or another, the nerves of his right eye where cut, causing blindness and discoloration. Another more smaller scar was on the left side his jaw, dangerously close to his jugular vein. It was said that when Katsuo had been a jedi knight, an assassin came up from behind him, drugged him, and tortured him. This was only speculation from the younger padawans, but Windu felt that they may not be very far from the truth. Katsuo had brown short hair which was pushed forward then up in the front. His sideburns which reached his jaw seemed to accent the scars, as well as his goatee.

What really intrested Windu, and much of the other members of the council, was that Katsuo invented his own style based off the draw style method.

"Sorry, we were talking about this new threat?" Kit Fisto said, turning back to the seated council members.

"Powerful, he is," Yoda responded, not looking up. "Concerned with this, I am. Find a weakness, we should."

"I agree with Master Yoda," Shaak Ti spoke up. "This 'General Grievous' has already killed dozens, if not, hundreds of our jedi."

"Now is not the time for spying," snapped Ki-Adi-Mundi. "We must react swiftly and quickly!"

"Under-estimate him, we should not."

"Yes but the more time we waist, the more of our jedi fall!" the Cerean snapped, the urgency of the situation clear in his voice.

This caused a silence amoungst the circle. Both were valid arguements.

"Running in blindly will cost more lives," Yoda said finally.

More silence.

"What about if we get to know him?" Plo Koon mused.

Obi-Wan chuckled in responce. "Oh, that would be pleasent. 'Good afternoon General Grievous, my name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. May I ask what's your favorite color?"

"Ask him what food he likes to eat," Katsuo said in dark humor. "Now _that_ would be amusing."

Spirits lifted a little, they continued with their specualtions. In the end, they chose to send a few jedi and a small army of clones to strategically attack this General, so that they could find his strengths and weaknesses.

Sometime after the meeting, Katsuo was in his quarters, thinking back to the battle of Geonosis...

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_Katsuo ran towards the entrance to the catacoams, where geonosians where pouring out of. Red blaster fire wizzed past him, barely missing him, as he dived in close to the group. His lightsaber was in his hand and activated in an instant, swinging as the bright blue blade of light sliced mercilessly through them. He raced that way through the cold dark cave, many jedi and padawans following after him._

_They made it to an open area when they were barraged with attackers from all sides. Katsuo battled on without hesitation or mercy. Many of his comrads fell around him, but he had no time to mourn them. Amougst the brown was a flash of white, and a cold, metal limb came out of no where, it seemed, and smashed into the wall behind Katsuo, as he had ducked in time._

_He had no time at all to see his new foe, for as soon as they appeared they were gone. There was a roar, and an explosion that brought down the ceiling above them on top of them. Imediantly Katsuo, barried underneith rubble, blacked out._

_"Make sure no one is alive."_

_"Roger roger."_

_Katsuo had started coming to, but the force was telling him to stay down and just listen, so he did just that. The second voice was definately a droid. But who or what is that second voice?_

_"You are lucky that you are alive," the first voice snapped. Perhaps at the droid?_

_"It's not my fault you went and got your hand caught underneith a rock!" That wasn't a droid's voice. It was of a human female._

_"But it is your fault my hand got there because you were in my way!"_

_Katsuo heard steps of the droid nearby and made his breathing shallower, and used the force to control his heartbeat._

_"You have to be the most biggest asshole!" the girl snapped. "You would think you would be a little greatful I helped you survive! If it weren't for me, you would still be in that stupid bacta tank with barely even half your body to speak of!"_

_"Don't you dare talk to me that way!"_

_There was a silence. Katsuo heard more steps, then felt them leave. He breathed in, his body begging for oxygen. Air and dust particals whooshed in causing the Jedi Master to cough. Finally he was able to control his urge and entered into a quick meditation. He could feel the objects over top of him, could feel the air around it, and with a raise of his hand, he lifted the debri off him. The ceiling above the one that collapsed was still intact, luckily._

_Finally able to breath he sat up. Suddenly, stabbing pain shot through his whole body, causing Katsuo to collapse. So many broken ribs. his collar bone was definately fractured. One of his legs was broken in more than one place. He took a few deep breaths and did his best to ignore the pain. It was still possible someone would come back, whoever that was, and laying there moaning was a perfect way to be found. Then he surely would be killed._

_Katsuo raised his arms and hovered his hands above his collar bone. He went back into meditation and using the force he placed the bone back into position. He lowered his hands, doing the same with his ribs, fractured pelvis, and leg. Then he sat back up. The pain wasn't all gone, but at least it was bareble. He stood up, careful not to put weight on his broken leg, and did a sort of hop/walk in the direction he though was out. He concentrated on going back out the way he came._

_He hadn't been out for a long time, Katsuo guessed. There was still fighting going on, but that was mostly out in the stadium._

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Katsuo, back at the jedi temple, broke out of his thoughts. Who was that girl?

He would talk to Master Yoda tomorrow. He closed his eyes and fell into a heavy and exhausted sleep.


	5. Chapter Four

Well correction from the previous chapter, Zu Katsuo is the creation of my boyfriend's, so technically he owns that particular character... Um... Also yes I'm adding a very tiny love/friendship thing between Grievous and Ella, but not like boyfriend/girlfriend style. . lol... *Cough Cough*

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Chapter Four

"Master Katsuo," the Grand Master greeted, his back turned towards him. "Good news I hope you have."

Zu Katsuo walked over and sat across from the tiny jedi master. As Yoda turned to face him, it was obvious he had been meditating, as he seamed revitalized and optomistic.

"Master," Katsuo greeted in return. He closed his eyes, unsure of how to go about telling Yoda about what he had overheard. "It would seam that there is a young woman with Grievous. I'm not sure what purpose she serves, but perhaps she may be our best bet of finding out about the General."

"A lover, perhaps?" Yoda chuckled at his own joke.

"Perhaps," Katsuo replied, mildly amused. "Or perhaps someone involved in his creation. I heard rumors that while we were at Geonosis, Grievous was there too, being created. And also a Jedi Knight, out on the desert planet Gobi, reported seeing this General Grievous. His account of his battle not only confirms our beliefs that he is going out of his way to kill jedi, but also confirms the existance of the girl. Based on his report, she has a droid of somesort. He didn't have any details on the droid since he was too busy protecting his padawan. He did say it had long range attack, however."

"A good padawan, Kit-A-Nomoto was," Yoda said, shaking his head sadly. "Shaken up, Mino-Tari is, over the death of his padawan."

Katsuo waited for Yoda to continue, as it was obvious the Jedi Master was deep in thought.

"Find out who this girl is, we must," Yoda said finally, looking Katsuo in the eye. "Bring her here if necissary."

"Who should go, Master?"

"You should. You know more about this girl, it would seam," Yoda looked away, debating about something. "Bring some clones, you should. And may the Force be with you."

"And with you, Master," Katsuo replied, standing up and bowing in respect to the wise Grand Master.

As he walked down the hallways of the jedi temple, Katsuo thought hard of how he was going to do this. Going undercover on a cruiser full of droids was near impossible. And besides, it would take him months to get near to Grievous and the girl.

Katuso reached the landing pad with his red and black starfighter was along with R5-C1 was. As he got in the starfighter, Katsuo realized there was no other concrete option than kidnapping her.

Well, better just go and get the job done.

*****Aboard Grievous's Ship*****

Ella backed up, admiring her new, improved, and finally finished Demon. Luckily, his primary, secondary, and trimary memory circuts with all their programming had been spared, so things weren't as difficult as she origionally thought. She wiped her forhead and took off her rubber gloves and apron, and gave Demon another look over.

His head was still in the shape of a wolf's head, with sound, sight, and heat sensors. She put the long range gun on a movable arm of some sort so it could move from firing position to a position near it's side to decrease wind resistance. The internal cabin was smaller, and much more snug, but that was the area with most of his primary circuts, and also where she would lay in. The monitors where gone, but instead she fixed Demon up so that she was directly connected to him via her cybornetic eye, and vise versa. All of his monitors where always in her sight in it. And an additional setting was Demon's sight. They would be connected cleanly for about 50 meters. At 60 she would lose visual connection. At 70 meters, all connection would be cut off. That, she couldn't help. Besides, he was always by her side anyway. His legs were not much different in design, nor his tail. But his feet were a bit more designed for running and climbing. And to top it off, he was completely laser proof, and lightsaber resistant. That she also couldn't help. The alloy from the electrostaffs was heavy. Using the ship's core power, she was able to melt the alloy so she could fix it. All it was were thin sheets of the alloy, so if a lightsaber stayed on the metal after a few minutes the metal would melt off in the area and he would be very vulneable. To maximise maneuverablility without decreasing his defense, she made certain parts that bended and trwisted to be overlapping metal.

She activated him on her wrist control. His visual sensors blinked to life, and Demon started testing out his new body a little, moving this and that. He looked at her.

Oh and she removed his voice unit to make more room for better visual performance. But she could still hear him with the addition to her eye that extended into her ear.

Smilling at Demon, she played with a few buttons on her wrist control and opened up the connection.

"I'm not quite sure I remember this body. Are my memory circuts shorting out?" Demon asked.

"Not at all. Grievous destroyed your old one so I decided while I was rebuilding you I may as well add a few upgrades," Ella responded.

"Logical."

Later, after helping Demon get used to his new abilities, the door opened.

To her horror it was General Grievous. He was hunched over so his two meters of his cybornetic self could come through the doorways without fear of hitting his head on every normal sized door. Even still, his skull-like mask/helmet brushed the top of the Ella-sized doorway. Above his golden-yellow reptillian eyes where arrow like lines going up the forhead part of his mask. His fin-like radio anteneas on either side of his head were in a neutral position. His cloak he wore was connected a little to the left. His arms, which were clasped behind his back, pulled the cloak back so his ceramic chest plates where clearly visable, which gaurded his gut-sack which was encased in this green gooey substance which supposedly protected them from the vaccum of space. Below his chest armor was this movable black reverse ribs which protected the bottom part of his gut-sack and allowed more free movement. His legs, which ended in huge claw-like feet, where bent a little also to decrease his towering height.

He didn't look at all angry, like she expected him to be. Some how that made her feel more scared. She opened her mouth to explain, but he waved her into silence and shut the door behind him. He examined the new Demon, and then the tools, and the blue prints.

"It was under Count Dooku's orders I destroyed Demon," he said finally, his back turned to Ella, one hand behind his back, the other holding a sheet of paper with her notes on it.

"You wanted to destroy him so don't lie," Ella snapped.

He turned to glare at her, but his voice was still calm. "I'm not lying. It was under his orders that I did it." He turned back to the sheet. "I will not say, however, that I did not enjoy doing it. I will NOT be insulted by a droid!"

His last words included Grievous putting the paper down and turning towards Ella.

"And before you go smarting off again, remember these two things," Grievous said, raising a finger at her. "My cameras are everywhere on this ship, and your movements do not go unnoticed. Also, when I destroy something, I destroy it _completely_, leaving nothing salvagable."

And with that he left.

Ella stared after him. What did he mean by that? Confused, she looked over at Demon, who had quietly watched the exchange.

"He means he was letting you rebuild me," Demon said, responding to her dumbfounded expression.

"Why, though?" she asked. "He hates me."

"If he hated you, why are you still alive?" he offered.

"That's a pleasent thought, Demon," Ella said, half serious and half sarcastic. "Still, if he doesn't hate me then what exactly does he feel for me?"

"Not enough evidence to reach a good conclusion," Demon responded flatly. "Perhaps you should ask him. Although, there is enough evidence to say he doesn't love you."

"Why do you say that?" Ella asked, getting annoyed with Demon's answers that only bring up more questions.

"You're the one that worked on his brain, remember?"

Ella nodded, then turned away. That was actually one of a few things she clumsily screwed up on, but didn't tell anyone. Like for instance the temporary memory surpressors. She was supposed to install the permenate ones but the excitement of actually doing something hugely productive for the Separatists caused her to forget a few minor but crucial details... She would have to fix that...


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter 5

Katsuo and a group of clones were in the hangerbay of one of the republic cruisers.

Katsuo looked magnificent in his battle armor. He wore a hood hiding most of his face, except the tip of his nose to his chin. His shoulder armor further extended his already broad shoulders. The sleeves of his black tunic were tucked into elbow length black leather gloves, much like his black pants were tucked into his kneed high boots. On his black utility belt he wore his lightsaber and a blaster, and in it held his comlink, and small binocculars, as well as a few flares. His one dark blue eye was barely visable aside from a glint. His white one was visable, giving it a very sinister look.

"Approaching Cato Nemodia, sir," said one of the clones, saluting.

"Good," replied Katsuo. "Lets get this over with quickly."

"Yes, sir!" the clones said in perfect unison, raising their weapons.

"Splint, are you ready to draw their fire?"

"Yes, sir," replied the commando clone.

"Admiral?" Katsuo asked.

"Ready when you are, General Katsuo." The admiral was a short man, with a blonde walrus mustache. He turned and walked towards the elevator to get to the bridge.

So first, the republic cruisers and the escorts would fire on General Grievous's cruiser. While they did that, a group of starfighters would attack the other side. With their attention divided, Katsuo would enter and kiddnap the girl.

_*****ThisIsmyLineBreak******_

_"And how, Master Yoda, is Katsuo supposed to get this girl?" Master Windu challenged. "Waltz right in? He doesn't even know what she looks like! He said so himself!"_

_The short and green jedi master laughed a little._

_"Waltz right in, he will," Yoda responded nodding, a smile still on his old face. "Find a young female human amoungst droids, not difficult to do."_

_*****ThisIsmyLineBreak*****_

"The Separatist ship is firing apon us!" yelled one of the clones. And as he yelled, the hanger bay opened.

Katsuo got in his starfighter, turning on systems and checking and triple checking them.

"General Katsuo!" said a voice in his head set.

"General Kenobi?"

"Change of plans, Grievous is on Cato Nemodia!" Obi-Wan told him, his voice urgent.

"Master, I'm positive Katsuo can hear fine," said the voice of Skywalker. "You don't have to scream."

"I wasn't screaming," Obi-Wan said matter-o-factly.

"You're positive that the girl is with him?"

"I never said that," Kenobi amended. "She is not with him that I saw."

"Saw? You mean you are there?"

"Now, I didn't say that either," Kenobi laughed. "He just now passed our position. Oh, wait. Scratch that, he's coming back to the ship..."

"Distract him while I take the girl."

"Easy enough," Anikan responded.

As Katsuo took off from the hanger bay, he though how cocky this "chosen one" was. Even if he truely was the chosen one, he shouldn't face battle like he was invincible. His flight to the hanger bay of the enemy was rather boring as literally no one saw him. I guess black is a good camoflauge out in space, Katsuo thought, looking around at the more flashier colored starfighters.

*****ThisIsmyLineBreak******

Ella was in the hanger bay in an instant, going straight for her dark grey starfighter. Demon had a special place in the front portion where he could connect with the ship and fly it and attack as necissary, as Ella had no flying skills what-so-ever. The fist time she had flown a starfighter, she not only crashed it, but had taken a good number of nearby droids as well.

Neadless to say, Dooku saw it would be less costly to build a special starfighter for Ella, and finace Demon to have a flight control circut as well.

It was in the shape of a bird, it looked like, with rotating jet engines at the tip of each wing and a tail shaped ion engine capable of taking the ship to lightspeed.

But before she reached it, a black and red jedi starfighter breached the hangerbay and landed quickly in front of her.

"DEMON!" she screamed, sliding to a hault in front of the starfighter. "JEDI!" Then she ran as fast as she possibly could in the oppsite direction.

The AI came out of no where it seamed and lowered himself as if ready to pounce.

The jedi was in all black, and Ella could see his right eye was blinded. He looked shocked, as he looked at Demon, as if he were definately not expecting that. But he recovered quickly and got in a slightly crouched position, his left hand on his belt, the other grasping a lightsaber. But other than that he was absolutely still, not even pulling the lightsaber out.

*****ThisIsmyLineBreak******

Katsuo readied himself to attack this huge droid, feeling horribly ill prepared for it's size. It could even fit an entire human in it. That's when Katsuo realized that is part of it's design. Mino-Tari said that he lost sight of the girl very soon after they spotted his padawan.

After a few moments of complete silence, an squad of droids marched towards him and started firing.

He pulled out his lightsaber as he activated it and waved it around in a circle, deflecting the blaster bolts. He had no time for this, he had to prevent the girl from getting inside her droid.

The whole squad got blasted out into space with a strong force push from the jedi master, and with the same fluid-like motion, he grabbed the unsuspecting girl in the force and brought her to him. With a smart tap to her forhead with his finger, he knocked her out. Now to deal with this new droid.

It was already bounding to him at an alarming speed, causing the floor to tremble violently. He had to somehow bring this droid with him to show to the council. A new elite set of droids, maybe? So destroying it wasn't an option.

Katsuo inwardly scowled. He bent down, the force urging him to press a blue button on the girls wrist consol.

The droid dropped immediantly and slid a little behind Katsuo, grazing his knee.

Another squad of droids not too long after the first squad was spaced.

"I'm in need of heavy pickup."

"Roger, roger," said a clone, amused at making fun of the clankers, as the clones called them.

"Are you eating the droids,or do you want to pickup your starfighter?" asked the ever so cocky Anikan Skywalker.

"Neither, Skywalker," Katsuo growled.

Pick up came swiftly and before Grievous could say "RETREAT!" the republic pulled out.

*****ThisIsmyLineBreak******

As the General landed his starfighter aboard his cruiser, preparing to comand in a more proper place, the jedi and the clones left as suddenly as they had appeared.

He narrowed his eyes.

Why would they catch him off guard to gain an upper hand over him, only to retreat as soon as he boarded?

"Cowards," he muttered, slightly dissappointed. Then he looked around. There was damages EVERYWHERE in the hanger bay. And why was Ella leaving?

The tracking beacon he placed in Demon's circutry was revealing his position to be moving in hyperspace towards Coruscant. But why? Did she betray the Separatists? He growled in fury, but before he could destroy anything, he spotted her starfighter still inside the cruiser. And destroyed as well...

Someone must have kidnapped her then!


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter 6

Ella had woken up just as they were on a landing platform of the Jedi Temple. Looking down she realized she had cuffs on. She looked around, and saw the one who kidnapped her.

"What's your problem?" Ella demanded. 

"I have no problem whatsoever," the dark garbbed Jedi responded. "To what are you refering to?"

"Nevermind," she mumbled.

The jedi led her towards the door way leading to the inside. Ella had never been to the Jedi temple, and was very glad for that fact. It was a horrid, treachorous place where the Republic dogs steal babies away from parents to train them to be a jedi. Just like what's happening to me, she thought darkly. Except I'm 26 today...

Before she knew it, she was in a room with comfortable looking chairs in a circle, Jedi sitting in all but one. Her kidnapper took the empty one.

Ah, so he is a master.

"Great fear I sense in you, young one," the funny looking green old and wrinkly puppet said.

"I am NOT afraid, Jedi," Ella sneered. "You are the one's who should be afraid of me!"

Throughout the circle were chuckles and "tsk-tsk," which made her even more angry.

"And besides that, I'm 25!" she snapped. Then she realized she made a mistake. "Er... I mean 26..."

"Young you are, to me," the green one said with a calm smile.

"If you think you can force me into becoming a jedi, you all are out of your minds!" she sneered.

More chuckles.

"I'm not sure I am following you," said a female jedi. That one she recognized. Shaak Ti. She had been at the battle of Geonosis. "We don't force anyone to do anything."

"You kidnapp children and teach them when they are young, niave and impressionable!" Feeling on a role, Ella continued. "And you forced me to come here!"

"Leave, if you wish," the green one said with a chuckle. "Other people will find you. Crueller things than what we would ever do."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I sense traces of the force," the brown skinned human said. Ella remembered him, too. He had a purple lightsaber.

"As do I, Master Windu."

Windu narrowed his eyes at the girl, then leaned forward to rest his elbow on his knee.

"I have no force abilities," Ella snapped!

*****ThisIsmyLineBreak*****

_"Her blood test came back for the midichlorian detector."_

_The doctor came in a sheet of paper in his hand. He looked fustraited, and seamed to be thinking._

_"And?" Asked her mother. Ella was really nervous. She understood it was something looked down apon in Otto's society to have force abilities._

_"She... Came back negative," the doctor didn't look up from his paper. From where Ella was sitting, she could see the sheet had much more to it. But she couldn't read it at all. She was only 4._

*****ThisIsmyLineBreak*****

Ella came out of her memory and looked around at all the staring faces.

"A vision?" Windu asked her.

"Even if I had one, I wouldn't share!" she growled. "Besides that, it was just a flash back. I have vivid ones often."

The council murmered to one another.

"Cooperate, and treated like an equal, you will be." Ella remembered his name finally. Yoda. "Or treated like a prisoner of war if not."

Ella had a retort at the tip of her tounge.

"Ella Nox isn't it?" asked her kidnapper, cutting across her before she even opened her mouth.

"Yes," she said tartly.

"Well, Ella, would you like to go for a walk with me while the rest of the council is in session?" The council members seamed shocked at the assumtion, but Yoda nodded, chosing to go with it. Ella looked suspiciously at him. watching his scared face closely. "I'll show you how things are done here."

"Katsuo is taking a huge risk, showing Ella Nox around the Jedi temple when she works for the Separatists," Windu said after the doors shut behind them.

Yoda frowned and looked down, closing his eyes.

"Trust Katsuo's judgement, I will," he said finally. He looked up to look out the window.

"What would he hope to gain?" demanded Ki-Adi-Mundi.

"Her trust," Yoda said, quite simply. "Confused, she is. Never saw or experianced a Jedi's way of life, she has. Giving her a chance to see that is crucial if we are to hope she will see the truth."

With Katsuo, Ella looked around the temple. First they went to where the infants were.

"We do what we do to prevent an attachment. Love can lead to fear of loss, which in turn leads to the dark side of the force. It is why jedi are not allowed to marry, unless of course you are a Cerean."

Ella stared at the infants. Orphaned at birth.

"The parents do not have much desision, but they usually go with it," he sighed. "Sometimes it looks wrong, but in the end, keeping an open mind is crucial."

"If you have such an opened mind, why do you let them do this to families?" Ella demanded.

Katsuo just stared through the window at the various nurse-maid droids. Ella was starting to wonder if he had heard her, but then he took in a deep breath, sighed, then answered.

"Anikan Skywalker, the chosen one, wasn't found until Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi went to Tattooine. There he had known his mother, and slavery as well. He grew up knowing fear, regret, and worst yet, hatred." Katsuo closed his eyes. "It's a terrible way to live as a jedi, constantly fighting the urge to put things in front of your duties." He looked straight into Ella's one blue eye with his own.

"You speak as if you know from experiance."

"That, I do." He walked down further through the hallways. Ella followed, curious. The younglings in the training room they were passing were training with floating balls that shot lasers at them, which they had to block blindly.

"You knew your mother?"

"I didn't say that," Katsuo said flatly.

There was a heavy silence until they reached the padawan area. And even then, he only discussed what they did and so on.

"This is your room," Katsuo said, completing the tour at a room. "Your droid is in there. If you really want to leave, I wont stop you. There are plenty of starfighters around and becons to contact the General from."

Ella stared at him, shocked, as he turned to leave. At the door, he looked back at her.

"But if you wish to stay, everything you need is here. If not, give me a call."


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter 7

"I am extremely displeased to hear of the girl's kidnapping," Count Dooku said snidely, lifting his chin at Grievous. "And I am also told that her handmade droid hasn't been completely destroyed. General, I am very disappointed in you. Not even a month since Geonosis and you have already shown inability to follow directions." The sith lord had his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes showing he was extremely bored reprimanding Grievous like a child.

Grievous just glared at the holoimage of his master. How he longed for the old man to shut up. Images of him terrifying the old man into silence helped him keep himself from bursting out.

Finally the holoimage disappeared, and Grievous released his anger he had held inside out on a nearby commando droid. It wasn't nearly enough but it helped to watch it's head pop off with a delicate crackling of electrizity and it's dying "What the-?"

"What he do that for?" asked another droid.

"Shut-up!" snapped yet another. "Obviously he did something wrong."

"Like what?"

"Uh, maybe he sat on the General's sandwich?"

"You idiot!" The droid smacked the other one in the back of his head. "The general is a droid! He doesn't need food!"

"Cyborg," corrected a third droid.

******o******o******o******o******o******o******o******

Ella woke up from a much needed rest, and for a moment didn't recognize her surroundings.

"Oh," she said softly, realizing she was at the jedi temple.

She looked around the room, taking in her surroundings as she had the night before. The room was very blue. The ceiling and walls were painted blue, the furniture were all many shades of blue, the cover and multiple pillows the same multiple shades of blue as the rest, and finally, a deep dark blue for the rug.

Could be worse. At least the taste wasn't too bad. But Ella suspected in a week, blue would become her least favorite color.

She went over to the mirror and sat in the blue stool in front of it and started braiding her blond hair. It was two thin braids on either side of her head that were her bangs looping down and back into a thicker braid.

She scowled at her reflection.

The cybornetic eye was pretty cool and very useful, but wasn't exactly meant for beauty...

There was something large and black in her room, she realized, looking near her reflection. Demon.

"Demon, Command Code Reboot." Beeps and small red flashes of his vision sensor showed his response. "System check." A moment of beeps and more flashing.

"System check finished. Weapon system offline. Personality chip disabled. Heat sensing and infared scanners are also disabled. Flight system offline. Virus detected."

"A virus? Command code virus scan and remove."

"Scanning and removing in progress... Virus scan complete. Virus count amounts to zero."

Ella shook her head. He needed charging. He always was faulty whenever he needed charging.

"Command code solar charge."

Demon walked over to the balcony and layed there and shut off his systems.

Ella walked out the doors leading to the hallway. Demon took a very long time to charge when he used a star's solar energy, so she had ample amounts of time to explore. The jedi temple was old and very large, but if she looked past all that, she saw what the jedi saw. A home. A school. A resource.

"Up and about I see?" said a familiar voice. "And answers to questions you seek, hmmm?"

"Yea..." Ella responded to the ever green master Yoda sitting on a hoverchair. "Um, Windu said that I had traces of the force in me. Why was I not taken, then by the Jedi?"

"Never perfect, us Jedi," Yoda said. "There are a few cases where we miss one or more. Disasterous it becomes."

"What do you mean?"

Yoda looked her in the eye and saw her truely curious and much more open minded than she had been the day before. Katsuo must have done her some good.

"Differences are not very acceptable."

Ella frowned in confusion, which made the master chuckle.

"Many societies view differences as bad. Disgracful they are to them. A child born within the force, both a danger and in danger."

Ella nodded. That made sense. If there was ever a child found with force abilities on Otto, they were immediantly dubbed outcasts and their entire family with them. In one case, Ella heard, one child was thrown off a balcony and the husband murdered his wife, thinking she had mated with a jedi. Her family was a very wealthy and was very honorable. It may have been that the doctor lied to her family to preserve them. He was, after all, her uncle. But why did Darth Sidious and Dooku overlook her abilities? Hadn't Dooku been a Jedi master at one time? He is said to be as powerful as Yoda and Windu.

"How much force is in me?"

"The force is within you, Ella," said Yoda with a frown. "Yet only a light flicker, it is."

Ella looked down disappointed. Well no wonder. She hardly had any at all.

"But normal, your midiclorian count is." Yoda sounded deep in thought. And at that he left.

Around an hour or so after, Ella (literally) ran into Katsuo.

"Be a bit more careful when going around those corners."

"Sorry..." Ella looked at her feet, very embarrased.

Katsuo "ha"ed and bent close to her with a smirk as if to tell her a very big secret. "Even jedi master Windu ran into someone going around that corner, so don't feel so bad."

Ella doubted that, but the effort to cheer her up made her smile a little.

"You seem troubled," Katsuo commented. "What's on your mind?"

"Well for one, why are you so cheerful? And for another, why is the force only a flicker when I have 'adverage' midiclorian count?"

"For the first question, why not? Had a good rest and a good breakfast, followed by a good mediation. And in addition to it all I find you decided to stay. Which means you opened your mind a little. As for the second question, all I have is speculation."

"Anything will help."

"I have sensed a strong presense of the force within you at different times. I suspect that, given your childhood and the laws of Otto I recently looked in apon, you repressed the force within you, and its energies spike within you when you need it or call for it."

"When have I ever used it?"

"You seam to be very smart. And again, this is merely speculation, I believe your force abilities enhance that."

"I wish I could use it to lift things into the air."

"Well, you would have to go through training inorder to learn to unrepress the force and learn to control your abilities." Katsuo scratched his chin. "Of course, in order to learn the ways of the Jedi, you must ally yourself to our order and the cause we fight."

The jedi so far have given something she never had. Freedom. And with in mind she immediantly nodded at Katsuo. She would definately take this over being near a screaming, overly dramatic, obsessive cyborg.

"First, I must speak with the council."

Ella went to bed that night with very high hopes. Katsuo promised an answer by tomorrow.


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter 8

"So we are not going back to General Grievous?"

Ella looked at Demon. Everything had checked out fine and he was back to normal. She shook her head, all the while thinking how great it was to finally be able to talk to her friend agaon.

"What changed your mind about the jedi?" he asked, still laying outside on the balcony. The morning sun had come up and he was still charging.

"I might be able to be one," Ella said with a smile. Demon's memory processors fired up and matched that one with an emotion called "hope," so he said nothing more. Obviously the human was happy here. He looked around trying to find something to talk about.

"The room is very blue," he stated.

"Yes, it is.."

*****o*****o******o*****o*****o*****

General Grievous glared with his yellow, hatefull reptile eyes at the stars. A jedi could have taken her anywhere. There were temples all around the Galaxy. He just needed to know about this jedi. Who he was. Where he was from. All that.

"Um, General?"

Grievous turned his head slowly to look at the creme colored droid near him.

"Unless you want to be like that scrap pile, you better make yourself scarce..."

There was indeed a number of droids he had dismembered and piled up. Something Dooku had asked of him to do, so they could at least salvage from the wreckage, since Grievous just couldn't help but destroy them. He honestly could. But he detested them almost as much as the jedi.

As the droid ran off, yelling as if the devil were behind him, Grievous thought, "you know what? Maybe the same."

Truely, he was a master tactition. If he had the control, he would face the jedi and destroy them all now. But Darth Sidious had other plans. Did he think that he was not good enough? Most likely.

Grievous, no matter what they did, did not have force abilities. He even had an ex-Jedi Master's blood running in his veins. One that was a friend to Dooku, back when he served the light side of the force. Surely that would open up his abilities? But no.

He returned to looking through the transparasteel to the stars.

*****o******o******o******o*****o******

_"Qymaaaaeeeeeennnn!" screamed a woman, her four fingered hand reaching out to him just before she got over swarmed by the- things-. Qymaen reached out for the woman with his own four fingered hand._

******o******o******o******o******o******

Grievous was staring wide eyed, feelings of shock and fear running through him, shaking him. It took him a second to recognise his surroundings. He quickly got a hold of himself.

What the heck was that?

He stared down at his hands. They were six fingered.

******o*****o******o****o*****o*****

Katsuo entered the chamber, his face completely emotionless.

"Master Katsuo," Ella greeted with a polite bow. He bowed back and asked her to sit down. as she did so she asked, "What's wrong?"

"The council has made it's decision." Ella knew immediantly what he was going to say. "They said no."


	10. Chapter Nine

_After a long period of little inspiration, I finally got inspired to write this story again. I'm sorry that it's been a while, but don't lose hope! More on the way :D!_

****o******o******o*******o*****

**Chapter 9**

He knew when she ran off that she wouldn't be back on her own.

The Jedi Master watched her back disappear around the corner with his blue eye, feeling no inclination to follow after.

He had felt a sudden charge in the force as she sprang passed him, sending him flying backwards into a wall. He had watched as the droid AI ran after her. He figured that she would grab the nearest starfighter and escape to General Grievous.

Yet for some reason he didn't move. For some strange reason, he was unable to decide at a crucial moment what he needed to do.

Katsuo scowled slightly, his rough eyebrows knitting together as more Jedi surrounded him in worrying glances and offered hands.

"She is already long gone, Master Windu," Katsuo said quietly to the pacing man somewhat later. "Most likely aboard Grievous's ship. There is little else we can do now."

Most of the other Jedi masters were there, with exception of Kenobi, who was in attendance via the Holo-net. All wore similar, grave expressions.

"She has a lot of secrets of us that she can pass on to the separatists, Katsuo. Do you not see the dire situation you have put us all in?" Mace Windu turned towards him, his black, cold eyes even colder. "And not just us, but the padawans, the younglings, and any Jedi who resides in this temple?"

"You are forgetting a crucial detail about miss Ella Nox," Katsuo replied coolly. "She had opened her mind to the force, to the Jedi, and our way of life."

"Your place to show her our way of life, it was not," Grand Master Yoda cut in, looking the most aged he had ever been. "Know better than that, a Jedi master should."

Kenobi scratched his bearded chin.

"Why is everyone being so negative? There are some details you are clearly missing," Kenobi said after a moment of dragged silence. Shaak-Ti and Plo-Koon both nodded in agreement.

"Explain," Master Windu demanded rather shortly, clearly disbelieving.

"While miss Ella Nox had ran from the building, everyone jumped to conclusions that she had left the planet. Meanwhile, has there been one single report about a missing starfighter?"

There was some murmuring amongst the council.

"Why else would she run out of the Temple?" Windu gestured to the window, his tone still demanding and edgy. "Certainly out of anger, but I doubt she would escape to a nearby pub."

"Disagree, I do." Yoda glanced to Kenobi. "Logical, it would seem, to disappear by stowing away, or paying another to help her escape. Time we have, therefor, to look for her."

Katsuo looked at Kenobi who was nodding.

"That was Anakin's idea, by the way," Kenobi added, looking off in a direction unrelated to the temple.

"Windu and Plo-Koon will go look for the girl," Yoda ordered. "Easy to spot, she will be. Mistakes easily made while upset."

"I agree, Master Yoda," Windu nodded towards him as Plo-Koon stood up.

"Let's hurry."

****o****o****o****o*****

Katsuo sat on the edge of her bed as she cried into the pillow, his arms crossed.

They had moved her to a smaller, more confined room, had taken Demon, and worse yet had guards standing by her door daily. It had been days since they found her at the Masked Tria trying to pay off someone to help her escape.

Jedi Master Katsuo visited every now and again, bringing food and some form of small comfort he could offer.

This time, he brought her the worst of news. The fleet of Separatists had moved farther away, seemingly to conquer more planets.

The separatists have completely forgotten about her, or at least felt she wasn't necessary enough to kidnap back.

Katsuo watched her from the corner of his eye, unsure of how to deal with the emotional girl. Jedi were taught discipline, which Ella clearly lacked to the point that he even suspected was intentional. When finally her sobs quieted to sniffling, he looked at her form hidden under the covers.

Just him being there helped her a little. He was kinder to her than any other Jedi had ever been. He never asked any questions, he just sat there and listened.

Ella started suddenly from drifting off to sleep, looking around for Katsuo. When she couldn't find him around her thoughts became of General Grievous. Nervously she thought about how what little natural body he still had would be fighting the memory suppressors she developed. Suddenly she was sure that she would much rather be where she was when he found out.

Then she thought back to Katsuo. She couldn't figure out why she kept thinking of him. Perhaps it was that out of all the Jedi here she could relate to him? Whatever the reason was, she was sure was a good reason.

Ella shook her head to herself. Even in her own mind she sounded silly.

"Did you hear? Skywalker has a padawan." The muffled voice of the door guard broke through her thoughts.

"Yea, I heard he was careless and she ran into Grievous."

"I heard that he told her to handle Grievous on her own."

"Really? Wow that's weird… I heard they were trying to keep him away from Coruscant "

By the sound of the gossiping, they were both female humans in their young teen years. Ella heard no more, though she had been listening very hard after hearing about Grievous.

So Grievous and Dooku had no intention of saving her at all. The thought sounded worse now than before, now that it was confirmed. Ella turned to the window, her cybornetic eye clicking through different adjustments to the brightness outside. There was no escape, nowhere to escape to even if she managed it. She was stuck. Numbness.

Desperation hit her later, around when she was sitting on her bed, dwelling on everything. Right around the time that dinner was supposed to come.

Katsuo came later than before, looking at her warily.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"It's nothing… I just want to get out of here…"

"By now it should have occurred to you that you are a prisoner of war," his tone was matter-of-fact, but his expression was flat. Ella frowned at his words.

"A-a what?"

"A prisoner of war. Someone who is captured and held for the duration of the war or until-"

"I know what a Prisoner of War -IS-," Ella snapped, irritated. "I want to know why I'm one."

Katsuo looked at her in the eye for a moment, then to the ground as he shut the door behind him, setting the tray of food down at the bedside table. He was silent for a minute or so before answering.

"Two reasons. The first being that you know what we want to know. About General Grievous… Who he is, what he is, and furthermore what are his strengths, and weaknesses tactical-wise. Secondly, " he looked back at her through the corner of his good eye. "You know too much about us for us to allow you to just walk right on back to the separatists."

Then is when it occurred to her what they were doing with Demon. Being a AI, he would have to have a memory processing unit. Something they could use to gain such knowledge and tap into communications.

Anger filled her up, and for the second time the force flared up around her.

But this time Katsuo was prepared, his lightsaber out and ready, a hand moving the force to direct the powerful surge elsewhere, shattering the bedside lamp and sending the tray of food everywhere.

She had to get out and find Demon.

She was no longer amongst friends or allies, or whatever she had once begun to think the Jedi where.

She had to get out. But it would take very careful planning, as currently there was a Jedi Master in her way. Even if she could control her force abilities, Katsuo had several years of experience behind him, leaving Ella with very poor odds.

She calmed down, taking a few deep breaths.

"So I have little choice but to join you," she was still angry, and knew she would have to bite a lot of what she wanted to say to make it believable. "How about we make a deal, since I have little choice else."

Katsuo was quiet, and wary, but listening.

"I will tell you what I know about the separatists and General Grievous," she calmly looked at Katsuo, blue eye to blue eye. "IF you teach me how to be a Jedi."


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter 10**

General Grievous had long pulled out of hyperspace, watching Coruscant slowly expanding as he grew closer and closer to the planet. His golden reptilian eyes narrowed in irritation. What was it about the girl that drew him to her? She was a human, certainly not attractive even if he was capable of judging such.

He steered his sleek, black stealth-fighter into orbit, resting and waiting until the right moment to strike.

Contemplating more about the girl, Grievous hacked into Demon's circuitry, dodged a few firewalls, and downloaded the known layout of the Jedi Temple. Unfortunately this was only a sneak and rescue mission, not a run-and-gun one. He had to keep it quiet, as Dooku had not ordered him on this task.

Lately Grievous had been dreaming of a female. Of whose name escaped his memory, her exact facial features a blurred image, little recollection beyond the basic event and feeling that emanated this obviously important and powerful memory.

Somehow, Ella was linked to the solution of the mystery the memory presented. So that's why he needed her around. That's why he was orbiting Coruscant in a small stealth-fighter, ominously above the Jedi Temple.

****o*****o*****o*****o*****

"Master Yoda!" A young padawan burst into the Grand Master's room, interrupting the small green alien from his always intense meditation. "Master Yoda!"

Yoda had long sensed the uncomfortable stir of confusion and fear within the force, and had been prepared for the interruption long before it occurred.

"Far too excited you are young one," the Master reprimanded, his eyes still closed, a frown pronounceable on his wrinkly face.

"I'm sorry, Master," The youngling looked down at his feet.

"What is so important, hmm?"

"Master Yoda, Master Shaak Ti sent me to tell you that the Droid we have been studying got hacked by an outside source and that the outside source is untraceable but according to the droid's circuitry it is a known software so she thinks that it's the separatists," the padawan spewed out in one breath.

Yoda opened his eyes and looked out the transpara-steel window in a grave manner, making his over 600 year old face look somewhat older.

He had been tracking something odd in the force for the past couple weeks since Ella's recapture. The most accurate description of the growth of the said oddity was a candle's flame, short sparks eventually birthing an unsteady, flame which steadily grew brighter, more controlled. Yoda had reason to believe that someone was teaching Ella Nox how to use the force, and had even more reason to believe that Zu Katsuo was that said someone teaching her against direct council orders.

Now it seemed the separatists were rescuing her.

A child destined for the dark side of the force. The thought made Yoda concerned.

It was bad enough Katsuo was already on the edge of the Dark Side, and the fact that he was teaching someone against council orders gave him enough reason to remove the man from the council.

Yet Master Yoda hesitated. He hesitated because Master Mace Windu, too, had played on the thin edge between the Light and Dark sides of the force. He hesitated because Anikan Skywalker had been secretly trained by the late Master Qui-Gon Gin, and both scenarios proved the council wrong in its initial decision.

He would let the events unfold before making his decision to discuss with the rest of the council what he alone could sense so clearly.

"Job for you, I have, young Sti-Chi," Yoda addressed the child. "Get every one of the younglings and padawans in their dorms quickly, you should. Handle it, can you?"

"Yes, Master." Sti-Chi's big brown eyes lit up proudly as he walked importantly off, unaware of the danger they would be in.

****o*****o*****o****o******

Ella brushed her now short blonde hair out of her face, her face pulled into a concentrated expression. She envisioned the glass before her, focusing on the object that was across the room and feeling it as if she were holding it. Then with a lift of her hand, she used the force to lift the glass up.

"Good job, Ella." Katsuo nodded towards her as she set it back down. "You have improved a good deal. It takes you less time to lift the object, and this time you didn't spill the water everywhere."

Ella grinned immediately, soaking in the praise from the Jedi Master. They had only recently started on lifting objects and already she had caught on. Katsuo was truly impressed, as what a youngling takes years to learn Ella had only taken weeks.

"Then again," Katsuo thought, looking at the young adult female. "She does have more patience gifted with age than a youngling would have."

Still, despite how fast she was learning, it would still be at least a couple months before she mastered her abilities enough to create her own lightsaber.

Zu Katsuo looked out through the viewports, calmly though he had sensed something alarming.

There had been a ripple in the force which suggested danger was coming. Ella had vaguely sensed it as well, though she wasn't aware of what it was or what it came from. To her, Katsuo guessed that the feeling would be more like an odd feeling of what was to come, causing her to become visibly nervous whether she was aware of the anxiety and its cause or not.

The Jedi Master stood frozen, trying to figure out what caused the ripple, focusing.

"Now my turn." Ella took out Demon's blue prints. "Teach me how to build a lightsaber, and focus its crystal, and these are yours."

Through he had been teaching her the ways of the force in exchange for information on Grievous and the Separatists, he had not at all been forwarding the information on to the council.

Katsuo shook his head. He was too concerned with the ripple to be distracted.

A tremor shook the ceiling overhead, Ella's head snapping upward in shock and sudden fear. Then Demon crashed through, the AI landing heavily on the floor near Ella's bed, its tail whipping from side to side as it prepared to attack the Jedi Master.

"Demon!" Ella was truly shocked, Zu could hear it in her voice to know it was the truth. She did not know what was happening any more than he did. "Stop!"

"Error Code 1890. Error Code 1890. System did not recognize command code. Repeat?" the droid's voice was more mechanical and neutrally flat. Ella realized in horror that the AI's core processing unit had been hacked and mutilated, setting Demon from highly advanced AI to a normal VI droid unit.

Luckily, Ella had programmed the AI completely and knew how to handle the seemingly rogue robot.

"Master Code EN-111001198Z," Ella said aloud, shouting above the noise of the now swarming Jedi and lightsaber vs. droid battle commencing.

"Master Code EN-111001198Z acknowledged. Force System Reboot and Manuel System Restore in progress," the mechanical voice stated, then the droid dropped to the floor, still and unmoving, completely silent.

"Who turned that thing on?" demanded Shaak Ti as she straightened her robe out.

"No one was near that thing," stated a Jedi Knight Ella didn't recognize. "It just turned on its own and smashed through everything."

Ella looked uneasily at Katsuo, who in turn was looking at her in concern.

If she didn't turn it on, someone else from the outside must have.

The other Jedi looked suspiciously at Ella as they dragged the limp, heavy and blinking droid away, Katsuo following.

Ella felt someone was looking at her. Uneasily she looked up, and had to suppress a scream. Looking down at her from the Demon sized hole in the ceiling was a pair of golden reptilian eyes belonging to a cyborg general.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter 11**

Ella wasn't sure how she had gotten there, events were rushing by as fast as they were running through the hallway of the Jedi Temple, but Grievous was dragging her very forcefully by her arm, in his other hand was a blue lightsaber slashing through Jedi as he went, blocking and pushing through them as best as he could.

The General was wearing a black hooded cloak, though his mechanical legs were obvious, his distinctive and recognizable mask was not. Ella was so shocked that she had followed through with the motions of running and allowing the 7-8 foot cyborg lead her forcefully onward.

It wasn't until she saw the stealth-fighter and the Jedi Masters in the way, Zu Katsuo and Mace Windu, that she started to struggle against him.

"NO!" she screamed, her thoughts running instantly to how much she had learned and what more she could learn. It was so unfair! "NO! LET ME GO!"

As Ella kicked and screamed in protest, Grievous picked the girl up very easily and smashed through the two surprisingly ill-prepared Jedi Masters.

"LET ME DOWN!" Ella screeched, her voice at its highest and loudest pitch yet as Grievous jumped in the cockpit, and took off as the hatch was closing. She continued screaming, becoming desperate as the General messed with the controls of the stealth-fighter, preparing it for a fast getaway. "LET ME OUT! NOW!"

Grievous smashed the girl hard against the transpara-steel, sending a burst of red hot pain along her right shoulder that smashed into the glass.

"SHUT-UP!" he snarled. "UNGRATEFUL -!"

She didn't stop crying until they came out of hyperspace near the Separatist fleet. The pain never stopped. It just kept coming in shuddering waves.

Despite the fact that she left Demon behind, and the opportunity to learn more about the force was ruined, despite the pain now emanating in waves of severity that randomly broke her in sweats, and despite the angry General behind her, all she could think about was Zu Katsuo.

Come to think of it, she realized, he never reported the information she gave him. The Jedi were too unprepared and knew obviously very little to think otherwise.

Why?

Does that mean he was teaching her against the council's wishes just because she wanted to learn?

She bit her lip as another wave hit her. She was probably thinking into it too much.

As the General drove the ship into the gravity field of the ship's landing station, a climatic wave of pain burst. The pain felt like someone was stabbing her with a lightsaber through the shoulder, and twisting it. She managed a gasp before passing out, stopping any further speculation.

****o****o****o****o****

The council chamber was abnormally quiet, full of grave faces.

"Take action we must." Though quiet, Yoda's voice was heard by all the Jedi Masters. "Dead, too many younglings are. Too many."

"Master Yoda. We cannot fight an enemy we don't yet know anything about!"

"Surely we have more to go on than a rogue jedi with mechanical legs." Kenobi sounded worried as he looked at all the forlorn looks.

"No, we do not."

"What of the droid? Demon, she called it?"

"As far as we can gather, the droid helped destroy half our temple for Ella Nox's escape." Jedi Master Kid Ad Mundi glanced at Yoda. "I told you we should have destroyed that thing when we had the chance."

"It had curious properties that could not have been explored had we followed your advice, Master Kid." Shaak Ti said airily, gesturing to the holoimage of the sleek black droid.

Katsuo looked at each of the Jedi Masters in the room before glancing down at his hands. With Yoda's careful and knowledgeable eyes upon him, he kept his mind from wandering, using meditative techniques to keep from feeling anything that the very Force attuned Master from sensing anything.

"Curiously, was this rogue Jedi after Ella Nox specifically?" Up until now, Plo Koon had remained silent, obviously in deep thought.

"Yes, Master Koon."

"Is it safe to assume that this 'rogue Jedi' was General Grievous?"

The council burst into arguments. Then they fell silent when Yoda lifted a small wrinkly green hand.

"Why would a supreme General of the Separatists be coming to rescue one person? Surely he has much more to worry about?" Kid Ad Mundi stood up as he spoke, gesturing to show his obvious doubt with Plo Koon's question.

"Perhaps the girl was of great importance? Someone with her expertise on droids, AI's and such would be a valuable asset after all to their army which mainly consists of Droids, after all. Added to that, she knows quite a bit about Grievous." Shaak Ti stood up, mirroring the Kid Ad Mundi, but supporting Plo Koon. "This evidence supports that she even helped build the General…"

Shaak Ti pressed a button on the holotape's frame, and some extracted blueprints from Demon came up of what looked like a combination of flesh and metal titled "Project Grievous". It did not look like they were the final blueprints, but it gave them an idea of what alien Grievous had been.

"Kaleesh?" Windu stared at the blueprint's notes. "Grievous is Kaleesh?"

A sudden ripple of gasps wrecked the council's silence.

"Seen this, we should have."

"Well that would certainly explain his hatred for Jedi and the Republic." Kid Ad Mundi nodded solemnly.

"His name was. . . Qymaen Jai Sheelal. . ." Windu's voice was so quiet it was nearly a whisper, yet everyone heard it. In direct contrast the council flared up.

"That young Kaleesh general?" "I TOLD you we needed more PROOF!" "Didn't the Huk enslave his people? Why didn't we do anything?" "We didn't have enough funds. . ." "The chancellor will hear of this." "We could have sent a little relief!" "This is our-!"

"ENOUGH!" Kid Ad Mundi's voice boomed through the chamber. "What's done is done. Leave past arguments in the past and let's focus on the problem at hand. At least we know more about our mysterious General Grievous. And we can also surmise that the quote on quote 'rogue Jedi' was in fact Grievous himself. This girl would be of great importance to him, as she would to the separatists. Are we in agreement to this?"

The council murmured in agreement, some rather reluctantly, but the proof was undeniable.

"Curiously, why would Grievous, someone who supposedly hates the Jedi, pass up the opportunity to kill as many Jedi as possible?" Plo Koon asked, obviously asking on some of the council's behalf. "Most of the reports stated that casualties resulted in the explosions and debris. None of the reported deaths had lightsaber burns."

"It doesn't make sense," Kenobi whispered.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter 12**

Ella knew that they would destroy Demon. She knew way before the termination code had reached her arm unit while she lay on the bed in the Medical Bay. Anger never came. Instead she planned and thought as usual. While one part of her planning would go to make a better prototype AI based on Demon's original structure, another was planning on replacing her now useless right arm.

"It was for your own good."

Grievous was watching her from his towering two meter height as she drew clumsily with her left hand. The ideas were in her head, but on paper it just helped her remember the whole picture. Besides it wasn't anything too hard. Grievous had plenty spare arms.

"So you are ignoring me now, are you?" his tone almost sounded hurt. Ella would have continued ignoring him, but it occurred to her that he had been incredibly moody as of late, and he could break her only good arm left.

"I'm designing. I tend to shut everything else out."

This answer seemed suitable enough for him.

A lot of time passed, about a relative month in Earth's time. Ella had focused her force abilities with enough precision to build herself an arm without much help. Its basic build came from Grievous's final design with small improvements and personal modifications such as only one thumb. She removed the splitting mechanism which left a lot of room for new servos and mods.

In between the two triangular ceramic plates shielding her forearm servos was a small built in blaster, replacing the grappling hook. Behind the blaster was a component to produce a hologram arm unit that would connect to the AI once she was done with that.

Which was what was costing her the bulk of her time and Separatist funds grant from Otto. Sure the body was completely done, looking very much different than the previous version, but the core programming was taking a lot of time.

"This time, there will be no question of hacking…" she muttered to herself, typing in the programming commands manually through the arm unit. A genius they called her. How could they call her that when her seemingly perfect prototype failed?

No, it had not been perfect. Far from it. It was way too big and heavy to be agile and sneaky like it was originally made for. Demon's core programming started off from a cyber-warfare interface, which she had cross-developed from a marksman's program. The problem was; how would she make something smaller when its cabin needs to be big enough to fit her in it?

Speed and stealth were a top priority, as well as processing speed and adaptive cyber-warfare. The rail gun, luckily, had been removed during Demon's last rebuild. Rail Guns suited up to be a sniper rifle were incredibly hard to come by, and nearly impossible to buy.

Of course, the worth would be double now what it was before. Ella had modded it as well to suit the improved AI.

Ella took a break from the programming and looked at the body. It was still rather large, but smaller than a starfighter. The head more closely resembled the wolf, with a design that mysteriously resembled the god with the dog's head carved into ruins from one of Otto's thousands of millennia old long dead religions. The primary "eye" was circular and central, a spherical optical that was made up of several different light scopes. It sat slightly above and in-between the two secondary eyes, which allowed for a second light spectrum scope, although it only allowed for a 3x zoom. The sound sensors were shaped like a wolf's ears, with the ability to twist and move as a wolf would move its ears. The body was slimmer and along the spine was spike like formations which were special sensors that provided a small bubble of frequency that prevented being detected. Its paws were clawed for climbing, with an added back claw for balance and hold. And a plus, its torso could twist and bend like its neck. The tail was long and sported a lightsaber at the tip.

She was in the middle of programming the AI to use the rail gun and optics.

This is how she made it smaller. She completely removed the cabin, replaced the space that would have been there with the rail gun, and gave it full control of the gun. She was also adding programming on different effecting elements, just to give the AI an edge though it would likely make the appropriate changes later on as it saw fit.

She also built a receptor into the body so that she could stay in contact with it at longer range at a whole different and stronger frequency.

The AI was powerful, fast, stealthy, and much more improved than Demon's original design. Ella was proud of herself.

More proud of herself then when she had been in the library and hacked and downloaded the Jedi training holograms. Now her cyber eye could read all the styles as the Jedi did them. Her force ability was still largely young and unpredictable, though she could control it when she was calm; Ella very much doubted she could clear her head enough to control it during a battle. So what if she gave herself an edge?

"The force is present within Ella Nox, my apprentice. Why are you blinded to it?" the sith lord hissed quietly, the holoimage fizzing with static from the noise. Dooku stood up from his kneeling position to answer, looking stoically at the hooded figure.

"I saw nothing more than small suggestions. She isn't very strong in it."

"Wasn't. Now is not the case. While at the Jedi Temple, she received some training. Or so my inside source tells me." Dooku didn't answer, just merely took in the information. "Regardless, the news of General Grievous having these vague memories is troublesome. Unless you can make sure Ella Nox is 100% on our side, you must find another to fix this problem before it becomes worse."

"My lord, forgive my skepticism," Dooku nodded his head in a sort of apologetic bow. "but what would be problematic?"

"Have you forgotten?" the sith lord snapped. "We tried having him join willingly, but when the Huk invaded the burial sites he went back. No. He cannot remember any more than we want him to. He remembers hating the Jedi and why. That is good enough."

"You misunderstood my question, my lord." Dooku bowed his head again. "Ella Nox is a foolish little girl, and is very naïve. I can easily sway her with little else than words if she has fallen for the Jedi."

"See to it." And with that the image of Darth Sidious disappeared.

Grievous had entered without knocking which was usual. But what tipped her off to something being wrong was when he didn't say anything. She looked over her shoulder to see the cyborg general just standing there, casually observing her work.

"Can I help you?" Ella turned towards him, waiting for a blast of temper or something.

"Just wanted to talk."

Ella stared at him, thinking hard. Did she wait too long to fix the servos that were attached to his brain? Or did she deliberately do so? The latter seemed more true, as whenever it hit her mind she always put it off.

"About?" she pressed. The general looked down, his golden reptilian eyes looked moist. As if he had been crying. Ella would have laughed at the thought had it been months earlier. But now it only alarmed her.

"I remember." He only spoke those words, not even leaving it off as if he were going to continue. But each word seemed filled with years of pain and torment.

"What do you remember?" Ella didn't want to know the answer at all, so she didn't know why she asked.

"Her name was Ronderu lig Kummer. . . "


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter 13**

"I've got to go back," his tone was urgent, his ceramic plated fists clenched tight.

"I've heard you a thousand times but you CAN'T!" Ella snapped as she followed him down the hall.

"Why not? They are my people and I have a duty to protect them."

She had to run to keep up with his long, clanking strides. She had to stop him before he reached the starfighters. She had to activate the AI to stop him. It was the only way. But she hadn't programmed a name for it yet. "Oh well," she snapped quietly to herself, brushing a lock of blond hair out of her face. "it's too late now."

Uploading. . . 1%

"Damn it!" she nearly screamed it aloud. "I got to stall him!" She ran faster and grabbed one of his arms desperately. He yanked his hand away, glaring at her.

"Do NOT try to stop me, fool!" he snarled, picking her up by her collar and glaring at her through his skull-like visage. Ella squirmed frantically but it was to no avail as her feet were well off the ground. Grievous's gaze was a piercing, blazing glare.

"You CAN'T go." Ella's voice squeaked as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"Why not?!" It was more of a demand than a question.

Uploading. . . 35%

"Because I won't see you ever again and I'd miss you," she whispered. Ella shocked her own-self, covering her mouth with her left hand. Sure she meant to say it, but she didn't think she would sound so believable that SHE even doubted if it was a lie. Maybe it wasn't.

The answer clearly wasn't what Grievous expected, as his reptilian eyes grew wide.

"And if Dooku finds out that you went back, he'd come and find you, and kill you probably. Or worse." On their own, tears flowed down her cheeks.

Uploading. . . 50%

When had she grown to really care for the General? To her, he had always been a faulty project, though one of her biggest projects. Maybe feelings had always been there, and she was only realizing it now.

It wasn't until her feet touched the ground that she realized he had released his grip on her. She looked at him carefully. The shock in Grievous's eyes had left completely as he looked at her softly.

"If I stay, they will make me forget everything again," his voice was soft, pleading.

"Not really."

He tilted his head, not following her train of thought. "I do act a bit differently than I used to, I'm not sure if I can act like nothing has changed."

"I'm sure we can think of something. . ."

And that was how Ella Nox found herself hugging General Grievous.

Dooku oversaw Ella reformatting the servos and implants in Grievous's brain. This time there was no mistake, he was sure. He was bent over her as she worked furiously in the spot light in the soft grey tissue. Grievous's face plate had been removed entirely for the operation, showing off his hideously misshapen face. Scarred, torn, and completely jawless, Ella averted her eyes from the horror, hating Dooku's guts.

"This was a high investment, I expect him to be functioning better than ever, miss Nox," Dooku said airily, his hands characteristically behind his back as he stood. "No mistakes this time, if you please."

"Of course." Ella brushed a lock of hair away from her sweaty forehead. If it were anyone but Dooku behind her, she would have made a sarcastic remark about the operation being "brain science."

"Darth Sidious is very pleased with your work, and your advancement in the Force. So much so, that he is suggesting that you be trained, should you wish to further advance your study." This remark caused Ella to start, nearly cutting the brain with the scalpel in her hand. Of all people, how would have Darth Sidious known about her secret trainings?

"Master Dooku, don't you have an apprentice?" Ella had never met her, nor remembered her name. Venter or Ventress. . . Something like that. Regardless, she hoped the statement would catch him off guard and move him away from the subject.

"Oh, it would not be me training you. My apprentice, whom has come a long way in her studies, will be your teacher. Asajj Ventress will be stationed aboard with you to move your training faster."

Ella's slim mechanical hand opened voluntarily, dropping the scalpel, causing it to clatter on the floor. The shock of reality stung her as she realized that Dooku was not wishing for her to be trained, but to be watched. PAINFULLY watched.

Asaij Ventress was a cold and cruel woman, perhaps even a bit sadistic. Ella was very sure that she was as capable as a scarlacc from Tattooine at teaching the force.

"What is that for? I don't remember this implant." Dooku pointed at the newly implanted chip suspiciously, as if it would jump out and bite him.

Ella broke from her thoughts and looked at the blue chip.

"Oh, that chip contains a program linked to me so I can monitor his vitals, his movement, and track him from my consol." Ella pointed to her holo-consol on her mechanical arm, were it gave a mapped detail of the General showing heart rate, nutrient count, blood pressure, and oxygen levels. They were stable, if not a little low from the operation.

"Interesting," Dooku sounded proud as he patted her lightly on the shoulder, though his face was as always, stoney and emotionless.

Though what Ella said was true, it really served another purpose. It had nanites in them that would carefully remove the servos at a given time, when conditions in his body were unsuitable for survival.

This was the condition Grievous made her swear upon. If she had to make him forget, he wanted to at least remember it all before he died. Ella was sad to do this to him. He seemed so reasonable and. . . humane.

"You have truly outdone yourself, Ella Nox." Dooku complimented. "The improvements to your AI unit are proof of your growing ability. Keep up the good work."

With that he left her to finish, the shady, boney figure of Asajj Ventress replacing him from where he had stood. Avoiding possible eye contact, Ella busied herself harder than ever, trying to concentrate on the broken kaleesh warrior now turned droid general.

When she had finished, Ella couldn't have been more greatful as the entire time she could feel Ventress's icy glare on the back of her head, burning holes. The medical droid that Grievous had employed silently worked on placing the General's face plate and sealing it as Ella slipped out and away from the ice queen.

But once outside, Ventress caught her by the arm.

"Where do you think you are going?" she hissed, in Ella's opinion, sounding cat-like.

Ella was going to say "away from you!" but instead she let her golden bangs fall into her sapphire blue eyes as she looked down and away, her voice leaving her for a lump in her throat.

"Child! Don't ignore me!" Ventress snapped angrily, baring her teeth, her eyes narrowing. Her words stung, but nothing Ella could do about it.

She was stuck with this sadistic woman from now on.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

_Avalon and its concepts and history took long deep conversations over physics and astrology with my partner, who thought of the original concepts of its people._

_I also want to express my deep irritation with how LONG this story is D:… I'm NOWHERE near an ending, though I've already had it planned since I started it! Geez! All this planning for a fanfiction xD. Lol but that's what makes it good, no?_

_Again a new chapter has been added to my growing story ! Thank you for your reviews and support 3_

**Chapter 14**

Long ago, before the galaxy was crisscrossed by hyperspace travelers, when space travel was only new among most species and could not yet extend beyond a solar system, a small rogue planet, caught by the young star's massive grip, fixated its spiraling course for what came later to be known as "The Planet of the Ancients".

The Ancients were a human race of highly advanced technological beings that were beginning to find more and more ways to get richer by excavating nearby planets in their system. Their planet had long since run dry of materials, but since discovering simple space travel, they were able to continue learning and sucking in more resources of similar to greater value. Their economy soared, and they prospered, naturally. And just as naturally, as is normal with healthy economies of great wealth, there was a significant growth in the world's population. War was probably rampant on such a planet, as are most planets full of greedy people, but it was never recorded as such. History was forever written by the winner, as they say.

Luck would have it that one of the planets in the solar system, a gigantean gas giant that orbited the star crookedly and in the opposite direction, as compared with the other planets which went clockwise, caught a firm hold upon the rogue planet, causing the dwarf planet to redirect and follow the gas giant's course.

Around this time, some of the Ancients, a number of a billion or two out of the 5 trillion that lived on the planet, decided that they were all doomed. They tried their hardest to persuade the others that the way they were living, there would be no more planet left. And with the summers growing ever hotter and their winters growing ever nonexistent, they had to leave. Those who would not join their cause, which was a great number compared to their small fraction, deemed them Doomsday theorists, and scorned and ridiculed them.

They had science on their side. What could happen that they could not control?

Most of the doomsday theorists were killed, and the rest, about a million or so, were banished upon shuttles to the then 5 year-old moon they named Avalon that had been captured by the uninhabitable gas giant. They were to be assumed dead, as the moon, though rich in oxygen and water, it had a yearly cycle of a period of 11 months of freezing winters and 3 months of blistering summers. This was mostly due to the gas giant's odd elliptical orbit and Avalon's even odder orbit around the gas giant.

The gas giant, while it was still captured by the star, was closest to the said star as well as below the normal orbits of the other planets during one of the sharper points of the counterclockwise elliptical, while the other point of the elliptical was farther away from the star and above the normal orbits of its surrounding planets.

The moon, Avalon, spun around the gas giant in the same manner, though it's orbit more circular around the planet rather than elliptical and sharp. When the planet was close to the sun, Avalon would undergo a pull in gravity from the star so strong that its orbit around the gas giant was sped up while the planet made its way around the sun. The orbit of Avalon would again, slow down its momentum as its view of the sun disappeared for another 11 months. Officially the orbit of Avalon circled the gas giant twice during the 14 months; however those residing on Avalon counted the whole 14 months of the gas giant's year. Who would be able to remember which year was the 9 month year and which one was the 5 month?

Avalon's axis was tilted the same way the orbit was, its orbit around the axis a total of 28 hours all year round.

Nonetheless, Avalon was largely uninhabitable during the extreme parts of the winter and summer.

On its surface, anyway.

The newest members of the planet of Avalon discovered caverns of a very ancient civilization that once roamed the underground, perhaps of the civilization of the planet before its journey away from its home solar system. Luckily, the civilization had been less advanced and used pictorial messages as historic recordings. The Ancients named the original planet inhabitants, "the Keepers" and learned from their records of "honor".

Of course, the supposed Doomsday theorists were right about the Planet of the Ancients. It was dying. The star was older than it used to be, and the planet was becoming less and less livable. The star's solar flares wiped out their technology, and the weather they had been evading finally hit them harshly.

The only Ancient Ones that were left were those banished onto Avalon. An event the Ancients later recognized as "The Great Migration."

The galaxy's many species started poking their heads out into space, and there were several wars, several galactic events, the making of the Republic, democracy, and the Jedi order. More wars, more attempts at dictatorships, more Jedi. And finally, millions of years later, the present day Avalonians were discovered.

Evolution had granted the Avalonians keen senses of sight and hearing. Their eyes were slanted, their pupils slitted in an feline-like fashion, and their ears were tipped for more sound focus. Their hair was a white, their skin just as colorless. Their bodies were long and slender, built for the increased gravity below the surface, elongated for the pressuring shift when the sun and gas giant fight over Avalon.

The Avalonians were a militarized dictatorship, with rank and sword prowess deciding where they were politically. They all are honor-bound and family oriented to an extreme. If you didn't have a recognized surname, you were expected to fail. If you had a surname of a powerful and high-ranking family, you were expected to succeed. Most families who had youth who dishonored them in any way would disown and banish them.

"The only way to succeed is to join the military and earn a high rank. And in order to join the military, and earn your sword, you have to undergo training. In order to train, you must become an apprentice to any recognized master. In order to pass your training, you must be recognized as a master by a master." One male with greenish-gold eyes and a top knot tied in a blue ribbon and a long beard was speaking to a younger yellow-eyed male, whose top knot was tied in a white ribbon. "And in order for me to recognize you as a master, you must prove to me your mastery of patience. Which thus far you have failed to do, Tsukai."

"Master Utsue, I am already 19!" retorted the younger. "I should have joined the military a year ago!"

"Which would make one think that you would have learned by now," he responded simply. "Just because you are part of the Shintoku family does not grant you special treatment. It does, however, cause surprise when your mother was far less troublesome than you."

Tsukai held his tongue, lowering his head, glaring at his master's slippers and the hem of the colorful blue themed cloak, away from the double-edged diamond vein sword. Oh, how he hated Master Utsue. Of all the masters that were out there, his mother had to insist upon this old one. Sure his beard was long, but Tsukai felt that the beard was a lie.

And when that Jedi came to train. . . Master Utsue took him in and passed him as a Master in a far shorter amount of time than Tsukai had been training in all.

What had his name been? Zu Katsuo?

That sounded about right.


End file.
